Curbing Excessive Packaging: a Long and Arduous Task

Editor's note: In recent years, excessive packaging has become a global problem. To curb excessive packaging, many developed countries already have mature legislation that treats excessive packaging as an illegal act. Not long ago, the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government also issued the Interim Measures of Guangzhou Municipality for the Administration of Limiting Excessive Packaging of Commodities, aiming to limit excessive packaging through government regulation. However, in this respect China still lags far behind developed countries, and there is still a long way to go before excessive packaging can be completely stopped.

A recent survey by the Environment and Resources Protection Committee of the National People's Congress found that packaging waste currently accounts for more than 10% of urban household garbage in China, and more than 30% of such garbage by volume, with the total amount of packaging waste reaching 150 million tonnes every year, of which more than 70% is caused by excessive packaging. Excessive commodity packaging has done great harm to the environment, society and the economy.

In recent years, excessive packaging has become a global problem, and many developed countries have taken measures to limit it. Internationally, regulating commodity packaging through technical standards is common practice in many countries, and the countries concerned have accumulated rich legislative and practical experience in this regard. For example, Germany's Packaging Ordinance stipulates that enlarging the volume of a carton so as to create an illusion, among other practices, constitutes deceptive packaging. Where the packaging volume clearly exceeds 10% of the product itself, or the packaging cost clearly exceeds 30% of the product, it should be judged as "commercial fraud" that infringes on consumers' rights and interests.

Japan has issued the New Packaging Guidelines, which require that the volume of packaging containers be reduced as much as possible and that the empty space inside a container not exceed 20% of the container's volume; the packaging cost should not exceed 15% of the product's selling price. South Korea's Standards on Packaging Methods for Various Types of Products set clear provisions on packaging space and the number of packaging layers, and treat excessively packaged items as an illegal act; manufacturers that fail to reduce the packaging ratio and the number of layers of their products in accordance with government regulations can be fined up to 3 million won.

The waste and pollution caused by excessive packaging have also drawn great attention from local governments in China. The Guangzhou Municipal People's Government recently issued the Interim Measures of Guangzhou Municipality for the Administration of Limiting Excessive Packaging of Commodities, aiming to effectively curb excessive packaging of commodities, promote reasonable consumption, save resources and protect the environment through a clear and workable government regulation.

Compared with developed countries, China's legislation on limiting excessive packaging of commodities still lags behind. First, the number of laws is insufficient: China currently has no law that specifically regulates packaging activities, and the few legal norms regulating packaging activities are mainly found in administrative regulations, administrative rules and other normative documents. Second, the provisions are not detailed enough: on the issue of excessive commodity packaging, China's existing legislation is not detailed enough, or the legal provisions are too general in principle and the standards formulated lack operability. Third, the level is not high enough: China's legislation on limiting excessive packaging of commodities is not high in hierarchy, consisting mainly of administrative rules and industry standards. Scattered standards and laws and regulations of a principled nature make it difficult to effectively regulate the problem of excessive commodity packaging.

In limiting excessive packaging of commodities, Guangzhou has only taken the first step. There is still a long way to go before the problem of excessive commodity packaging in China can be thoroughly solved.

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-361776.html